This section provides you, as an instructor, with information on writing a course outline for your SLICC.
This Instructor SLICC Support Pack provides further support
Your SLICC course outline can be made available in the usual places, such as on a LEARN (D2L) page. However, since SLICCs are unique, departmental websites often dedicate a web page to them as well. This is a useful way to answer students’ questions before they make the decision to take the course. Check with your faculty/department about this possibility.
Course Outline Components
Course Description
Write a course description that explains:
- the course content,
- how learning will happen (through experience and reflection), and
- your expectations of students.
An example of a SLICC course descriptions can be seen here:
Course Learning Outcomes
There are 5 SLICC learning outcomes that are related to professional transferable skills and mindsets: analysis, application, skills development, developing a mindset, and evaluation. Each learning outcome comes with a set of guiding prompts. Note that these learning outcomes and prompts are not discipline-specific – instructors may adapt the learning outcomes and prompts to their own context. Students then respond to the prompts to show how their chosen project will address the learning outcomes.
Key Components has more information about this.
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Managing curriculum requirements
Depending on how this course is embedded into your curriculum, there may be other overarching goals that the course needs to achieve. For example, you may need to convey some knowledge to students before they can embark on their learning experience.
An example of learning outcomes that include overarching goals can be seen in the course outline for BET 300 (PDF).
Managing program accreditation
You may need to ensure that students are also demonstrating certain competencies required for program accreditation to successfully complete the course.
Examples of how to help students navigate parallel sets of learning outcomes (those that you have provided and those that students set for themselves) can be seen in the course outlines for HLTH 472 (DOC) and GENE 415 (DOC).
Course Schedule
SLICCs require students to navigate the course independently and with minimal supervision from the instructor. However, you should provide students with a course schedule or a timeline.
Examples of timelines that convey not only course expectations but also due dates can be seen in the course outlines for PSCI 494 (PDF) and SVENT 325 (PDF).
Assessment
Proposal
Typically, a SLICC revolves around some kind of experience, such as a research project, work-integrated learning, or civic engagement opportunity. At the start of the course, ask students to write a proposal describing this experience and what they expect to learn from it. They should reflect on their learning outcomes and their plan for achieving them.
Provide students with clear guidelines for proposal writing, including:
- expected length,
- due date,
- expected writing style and key components of the proposal (discussed in greater detail in Key Components), and
- a grading rubric.
Reflections
What Students Say
- Students have reported that it is very useful for them to have an in-person meeting (30-45 minutes) with their SLICC instructor to discuss their projects and proposals. Depending on your class size, this may not be feasible. However, think about meeting with your students in groups. Perhaps you have TAs who could help conduct some of these meetings.
- Students have noted that written samples of proposals are very helpful! This workbook can be adapted for use in your course; it scaffolds the SLICC process for your students and includes examples of proposals, reflections, and mid-point and final reflective reports. For more information, please contact us.
An important part of “learning how to learn” is to reflect on one’s experiences. You can find more information on how to teach students to reflect in Key Components. For now, as you design your course, think about the following:
- What purpose do reflections serve in your course?
- How often would you like students to reflect on their experiences?
- How detailed would you like the reflections to be?
- How easily will you be able to provide feedback on the reflections?
- What purpose would you like the interim reflection report to serve? For example, is this an important check-in opportunity, mid-semester, to see how students are progressing? Would you like to provide feedback to students in person or in writing?
- What should the final reflective report entail? That is, how would you like students to reflect on their experience and the progress they have made on achieving their learning outcomes? Is there a pre-defined format or can students submit their final reflections in other formats (written, blogs, portfolios, audio-visual, etc.)?
Final Deliverable
Some SLICC courses require students to go beyond reflection and complete a final project that encapsulates the experience. Does it make sense in your course to include this final deliverable? It could take many forms and would need to be authentic to your department’s overall curriculum.
Instructor SLICC Support Pack
The Instructor SLICC Support Pack contains information to help you provide feedback to the proposal, interim and final reflective reports, and contains assessment guidelines and examples of feedback.
Other Course Policies
The course outline should be seen as a contract between you and your students. Therefore, provide as much clarity as possible around course expectations and policies. Consider adding:
- instructions for how to use the Learning Management System (LMS) and any other software students will be expected to use for communication amongst themselves and with you (e.g., Slack, Discord, Pebble Pad),
- an email/contact policy, and
- a late submission and extension policy.
More Examples of Course Outlines
- Examples of courses that convey both course content and have an embedded SLICC experience — BET 300 (PDF) and SVENT 325 (PDF)
- Example of a course based on work-integrated experience — PSCI 496 (PDF)
- Example of a capstone graduate course — HLTH 602B (PDF)
- Example of independent study courses adopting the SLICC model — HLTH 472 (PDF)
- Example of a course examining leadership attributes — GENE 415 (PDF)
- Example of a course that is NOT a SLICC course; instead, it is designed to scaffold self-directed learning skills to help students make the most of a SLICC at some point in the future — ENBUS 203 (PDF)
12 Week SLICC Course Breakdowns
The below SLICC course examples detail a 12 week breakdown